


A Chance Meeting

by maxRebo



Series: Old Patterns, New Threads [2]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Crushes, Fluff, Gossip, M/M, Pining, Questioning, Wine, background Alex/farmer, some Haley/Shane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:54:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26292961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maxRebo/pseuds/maxRebo
Summary: Elliott has a chance encounter with the town doctor in a tipsy state. Even in a place as small as Pelican Town, an unexpected adventure can be right around the corner.(This one shot can be read on its own, but takes place within the Old Patterns, New Threads series and story line)
Relationships: Elliott/Harvey (Stardew Valley)
Series: Old Patterns, New Threads [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890919
Comments: 20
Kudos: 47





	A Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This little one shot can be read completely on its own, but it does take place within the story line of Old Patterns, New Threads, and there are a few references to established relationships from that story.
> 
> In part I I don’t write from Elliott or Harvey’s point of view (unless you count the gossip scenes between Elliott and Leah), and so this was a chance for me to explore their voices a little and it was really fun to write! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

“Whoa. It’s night,” Haley observed as they exited the Saloon. She let out a tipsy giggle.

Shane was shaking his head as they made their way down the front steps. “I still don’t get it. I thought I was picking you up from some bougie wine-tasting with the farmer. It was fucking…Club Stardrop in there.” 

Elliott had to chuckle at Shane’s very poignant analysis. The afternoon as originally planned had taken a sharp turn into debauchery. For one, as Haley had so astutely observed, it was no longer afternoon.

Elliott had a few too many himself, and an irritating case of the hiccups, but he was fairly certain he was better off than the rest of his drinking companions. Alex had already dotingly collected his very inebriated girlfriend and they had headed off to the farm some time ago. Leah had left even before that, a bit emotionally undone thanks to a text from her dreaded ex. Now it was just himself, a tipsy Haley, and a sober Shane who had come by on his way home from Joja Mart. 

Haley was looking hilariously small in Shane’s puffy coat that hung past her knees. She tugged his sleeve, imploring him with a few hopeful bats of her long lashes. “Pepper poppers?” 

Shane huffed a laugh. “How could I say no. I think I left a box in your freezer, if Emily didn’t toss it.” Haley did an excited bounce.

Elliott could sense Shane hesitate as they reached the square, a natural place to part ways. “You sure you're good to walk home?” he asked, his brow furrowing in mild concern. 

“The walk will do me well,” Elliott assured him.

Haley skipped up to say her goodbyes, initiating an exchange of cheek kisses. “S’was so fun,” she slurred happily.

“An absolute riot," Elliott agreed. "We’ll do it again!” His exclamation was accentuated by a hiccup that made Haley erupt into giggles.

“C’mon, drunky,” Shane teased, not missing the irony. He offered her his arm, momentarily breaking his gruff exterior to cast her in an affectionate, protective gaze that made Elliott want to melt. He was admittedly a little lonesome after they walked off together, knowing he was headed to his small shack on the beach on his own. 

He took a moment to breathe in the cool, evening air, admonishing himself for his flair for the dramatic. Really, there was no need to feel anything but tipsy and content after such a fine day with friends. 

_Oh, bollocks. Leah._

He pulled out his phone.

> Elliott: Forgive my pestering. Just wanted to see how you were faring.
> 
> Elliott: Hoping you held strong against temptation?
> 
> Leah: it’s too late. I’m so stupid.

Elliott sighed. The poor dear. Leah would not be pleased with her drunken self for giving in to her ex’s incorrigible attempts at communication. He frowned, knowing he ought to craft some poetic words of encouragement. 

It wasn’t easy to stay focused on the small text of his phone and walk, and he found himself doing a little stumble here and there.

“Oh, hello there.”

Elliott looked up from his phone just as another loud, high-pitched hiccup escaped him. The handsome face of the mustached man in front of him flinched in surprise. 

“Oh, forgive me.” Elliott put a hand to his mouth, knowing in some part of his mind that he should be horribly embarrassed, but he was too tipsy for it to really stick. Seeing his crush suddenly in front of him like this was a strange paradox, a simultaneous thrill and horror.

“I was just headed for a drink, but the Saloon is apparently closed for the evening,” Harvey explained. His eyes glistened behind his glasses. “Did you drink Gus out of business?” 

Elliott chuckled at his teasing. “I’m afraid we have a farmer who recently dabbled in the fermentation process to thank for my current state.” He hiccuped again loudly, and they both laughed. 

“Ah! I heard rumors she was working on some wine.” Harvey smiled. “Must not have disappointed.” 

“It didn’t!” Elliott lifted an unopened bottle out of his bag, too tipsy to fully register a flicker of worry that he was being too forward. “Would you like to try some? I, admittedly, should be finished.” 

“Oh! Well…” Harvey looked around. “Perhaps, I could. We could sit right on this bench over here. Might give you a minute to um, dry out before you walk home.” He smiled warmly.

“Marvelous!”

Elliott took a moment to recognize what a terribly adorable chance meeting this was as they made their way to the bench. He was tempted to think on it further, but then decidedly closed the imaginary story line he had started writing in his mind. Tonight he vowed to silence his author’s tendency to analyze everything in terms of plot development, and just be present in the moment. After all, sober Elliott could be more than counted on to overanalyze every detail.

They sat together on the bench and Elliott quickly realized he wasn’t too drunk to feel a few nerves start to fire, with the doctor’s leg a few inches away from his own. They were silent for a moment. The crickets were chirping in a soft rhythm, and the heat that had been rather oppressive at the end of summer was notably gone from the air. It was a perfect early autumn night, with beautifully visible stars.

Elliott was pleased when he finally thought of the perfect introductory topic of conversation, the upcoming town fair. He took in a breath to share it, but instead he hiccupped again, an abrupt, shrill squawk that seemed to echo into the night.

Harvey doubled over with laughter.

“I sincerely apologize.” Elliott flushed and he wasn’t sure if he should be grateful to have amused him or if he wanted to go home and assume the fetal position in his bed. He was leaning towards the latter. 

“I wish I had some water for you,” Harvey sympathized, still wheezing slightly. He cleared his throat with one last chuckle. “It’s an involuntary spasm of your diaphragm, you must have irritated your vagus nerve.” 

“Oh?” Elliott made a mental note at his comment that he should spend more time describing the voice quality of the love interest in his novel. Maybe he should compare it to velvet.

“Alcohol is very acidic,” Harvey continued. “It can cause acid reflux, and in some cases the carbonation alone-” he suddenly stopped, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I’m being incredibly dull.”

“No, honestly. I find it rather fascinating,” Elliott assured him. “And I do prefer blaming this on my diaphragm, instead of me being an incorrigible lush.”

Harvey chuckled again. Elliott wanted to look into his warm hazel eyes a bit longer, but he resisted. This crush had lingered for months, and there was nothing to suggest that the doctor would have any thoughts about him beyond a friendly conversation and a drink. So, a drink they would have.

Elliott gave him a friendly smile. “Well then, let’s see what you make of this wine.”

***

Harvey wasn’t sure why he had felt the urge to venture out tonight.

Typically, he only made his way to the Saloon on the off Friday after a long week, or if the weather was poor and he couldn’t take his usual evening walk. Most nights he’d be content to watch a movie, work on a model airplane, catch up on some reading. But for some reason he had felt unusually lonesome just now, sitting up in his room above the clinic. It had stirred him to head out. 

Now, he couldn’t stop smiling to himself.

Elliott was usually so poised and effortlessly eloquent, but his tipsy state allowed Harvey to feel less intimidated and more like himself during this conversation than he had the handful of times they had chatted in the past. He had even made a pretty good joke earlier about the Saloon. Maru definitely would have labeled it as a “dad joke”, but Elliott had genuinely laughed, in his defense. 

Now they were here about to enjoy a homemade bottle of wine on a bench in the middle of town, and Harvey couldn’t help but be amused by the unexpectedness of it all.

“Hold this for a moment?” Elliott handed him the bottle of wine and started rifling through his messenger bag. It looked every part to be the bag of a writer, not that he was trying to snoop. A few worn notebooks, stacks of papers, several pens. The object of his search was a water bottle with a wide top that screwed off and served as a cup, which he produced with victorious flair.

“Here we are!” He held out the cup and took the wine bottle in his other hand. Harvey startled when Elliott grabbed the protruding cork with his teeth, pulling it out abruptly with a deep, hollow sound.

“Forgive my manners,” he apologized after pocketing the cork. “It comes easier when I use my mouth.”

Harvey laughed nervously. 

“So you see, this evening was not supposed to be such an affair,” Elliott continued breezily, pouring the wine into the cup. “Why, it wasn’t even supposed to last through the evening! I was just coming back from the library when I got the farmer’s text.” He handed Harvey the poured cup of wine. “The whole situation unfolded rather organically and then, quite debaucherously.” 

“So I see.” Harvey hesitated with his cup. “You're sure you don’t want some?”

“I’ve imbibed quite enough,” Elliott assured him. “But let’s toast!” 

Harvey thought for a moment. It was cheesy, but it was all he could think of. “To your health.”

“And my eventual sobriety,” Elliott added with a laugh. Harvey lifted the glass with a smile and took a generous sip. 

He smacked his lips and pondered the taste for a moment, and was pleased. “Well.. it’s good!” he said. “Not too sweet. You’d think with the strawberry that would be a concern, but it has a smooth finish. For a first attempt, I’m impressed.”

“I concur!” Elliott nodded. “Clearly, I found it quite drinkable.” They both chuckled. “I’m thrilled for Petra.” 

Harvey thought to the friendly farmer. “She seems to have settled in well.”

“Ah! Yes. She has. Endeared herself to the town straight away.” He looked wistful before muffling another hiccup. “Falling in love doesn’t hurt.” 

“I would imagine it doesn’t.” Harvey felt a stir of sadness. He _could_ only imagine. He watched the dry leaves skitter across the cobblestone path in front of them and get stuck in the grass. “It seems like you’ve become good friends?”

“I’d say we’ve forged a strong bond, yes,” Elliott confirmed with a smile.

“I was assuming, since you were on the short list for a wine tasting.”

Elliott laughed in confirmation.

“I really only know her on a professional basis, I’m afraid.” Harvey thought back to their initial pleasant check up in the spring, and the ill-fated trip to the mines with Abigail that resulted in a slime burn a few weeks back. She was well known to be sweet and generous, and he always appreciated when she brought farm goods to the clinic, she made amazing jam. But he had yet to have any meaningful conversations with her that weren’t health-related. Although, he had been invited to the farm for a bonfire recently, which had been a delightful evening, even if he felt a bit old to be included.

Harvey took another sip. “It can be hard to know how to appropriately socialize as the only doctor in town. Everyone’s a patient.”

“Why, yes I imagine that can be challenging, indeed.” Harvey wondered for a brief moment if Elliott ever considered modeling, with a jaw that chiseled. He seemed hesitant to ask. “You seem to be close with Maru, though?” 

“Well, yes. She’s incredibly bright and has been endlessly helpful at the clinic. I don’t think I could get along without her.” 

“Yes, I see.” Elliott didn’t seem completely satisfied with that explanation. 

Harvey wasn’t quite satisfied with it either. He was all too aware that many townsfolk were curious about the nature of their relationship, and he was only too ready to clarify when he had the chance. He thought of how to explain. “I consider her a friend who I can confide in about many things, but she’s young, and can’t always relate to the concerns of a 37-year-old man.” 

“And what concerns are those?” Elliott asked calmly, his long hair catching a bit of the breeze.

“Um.” Harvey furrowed his brow in thought. “You know. Just, getting older. Thinking about the trajectory of... my life.”

Elliott nodded as if this was the most natural answer he could offer. “A most important topic of reflection.” He managed to stifle his next hiccup, although it sounded a bit painful.

Harvey sipped his wine again. He felt strangely liberated to share more. “I’ve made a home here, in Pelican Town. But I often find myself curious about what it would have been like if I stayed in the city.” He frowned. “Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate my life here. I always dreamed of having my own practice and the city was a bit busy for me. But, I’m getting older and sometimes I wonder if..” 

Elliott raised his eyebrows as he waited for him to elaborate, patient and inviting. 

”If, this is it.” It felt raw to say out loud, and he wondered if he had alluded too much to his loneliness. He felt a flicker of worry that he might be oversharing.

Elliott hummed. Harvey followed his gaze out towards the river. “A quiet town offers a certain comfort of routine. But such repetition can shift from familiar to monotonous at times. I feel it myself, on occasion.”

Harvey nodded, although he couldn’t imagine a life as a writer was ever repetitive or dull.

“I must contest you on one point you’ve made, however.” Elliott eyed him playfully without turning his head. "Thirty-seven is hardly ‘old’.”

Harvey chuckled. If he recalled from his last physical Elliott was somewhere in his early thirties. He dismissed a pesky urge to check his file when he got home. “Relative to some things, I suppose. Dirt, for example.”

Elliott let out a hearty laugh. “Come now. Certainly you have a _few_ good years left, Doctor.” 

Harvey made a noise that he didn’t know he was capable of, sort of a bashful giggle. He immediately coughed. 

Elliott seemed unaware, looking thoughtful. “Even in a tiny town like this, I imagine many surprises still await you.” He turned to face him. “Why, just take this very meeting. I for one, did not foresee running into the town doctor in such a-” he hiccuped, more softly this time, but no less endearing. “Predicament.”

Harvey smiled. He was a little caught up looking at Elliott’s hands as he gestured with the bottle to refill the cup of wine, and how impossibly perfect they looked. He recognized he was oddly lingering his focus there and pulled his gaze up quickly, offering his glass. 

Elliott smiled in his classically handsome way. “I would think there are plenty of adventures still in store for you.” 

Harvey let that sentiment sink it, warming him. “I suppose you’re right.” He held his wine glass a little tighter. “We’re never sure what the next day brings.  
  
  
  


***

Elliott was attempting with some difficulty not to let his mind start spinning with the doctor's words. He had seemed to insinuate that his relationship with Maru was platonic, had he not? _“A friend.”_

He rebuked himself. Surely that didn’t matter.

Harvey took a long sip of his wine. “How has your writing been coming along?” His mustache slightly twitched as he smiled. “I remember listening to your first chapter earlier in the fall, it was enthralling. I didn’t want it to end.”

Elliott was somehow able to prevent the elated squeal that wanted to erupt from his core, as well as a plea for a detailed explanation of exactly what he liked and why in an itemized list.

“Why, thank you,” he managed. “It was a slow summer to start, but the draft is in the editing phase and coming along well now.” He made a mental note that he needed to spend some time afterwards agonizing over every possible meaning of the word ‘enthralled’.

“That must be exciting after such a long effort.” Harvey looked thoughtful. “How do you draw your inspiration?” 

It was such an endearing, earnest question, Elliott found himself momentarily at a loss for words, wanting to bask in the sweetness of it. 

“The ocean must be a beautiful backdrop,” The doctor continued, saving him. Elliott thought he could see his cheeks starting to turn a little pink from the wine. 

“Oh, it is. The sea has always been an endless source of creativity for me.” Elliott smiled. “Honestly though, the romantic turmoil in our very own town has been my muse of late,” he admitted.

“Well there’s certainly been a lot of that,” Harvey huffed with a bit of delight. “The gossip has been something.”

Elliott felt a flicker of interest. Did he find a kindred spirit? He wanted to test the waters. “Haley and Shane…”

“Saw it coming,” Harvey said. “Ever since the Luau drama, I had my suspicions.” 

“Such an unexpected match, but it truly works,” Elliott enthused. 

“I also called Alex and the farmer way back, I’ll have you know.” His eyes twinkled mischievously. “A sudden sharp increase in spring mornings spent casually tossing his gridball near Pierre’s.” 

Elliott chuckled. "Oh, yes. I noted it too." He paused then, entertained by a realization. “Why, I would imagine you’re privy to all sorts of town gossip in your role.” 

“You have no idea.” Harvey raised his eyebrows. He did a quick check around as if someone might be lurking. “For a small town, it’s incredibly...active. Let’s just say there's a reason why I have people opt _out_ of the STI testing instead of in.”

“I don’t doubt it for a second."

Harvey lowered his voice. “And it’s not just the young folk, you know.” 

Elliott raised an intrigued eyebrow. “Oh?” He realized with a pinch of nerves that they had slowly drifted closer together, facing one another.

The doctor had sort of an odd look on his face suddenly, like he was studying him. Elliott felt his breath catch lightly, but he couldn't seem to move. Yoba’s mercy, they were close together.

“I’m sorry,” Harvey said. “You have .. something in your hair.” His eyes were steadying towards Elliott’s left ear.

Elliott looked left as if his eyes had the capacity to keep going and spot it. Harvey reached his hand out hesitantly. “Do you mind?” he asked softly. His gaze was spell casting.

Elliott had trouble thinking of any words of affirmation in his own language, but managed to nod stiffly.

Harvey leaned in close, his fingers lightly caressing Elliott’s hair near his ear, his brow furrowing in concentration as he tried to untangle the object. Elliott could only pray that the doctor couldn’t tell how hard his heart was pounding, or how very sensual he was finding this entire experience. 

“I think..” Harvey began, his voice taking on the diagnostic authority of a doctor’s prognosis. “This small friend followed you here from the beach.”

He held his palm out flat and displayed a small crab. 

“Ah!” Elliott smiled. “A stowaway. I find them often, truly. Typically in my pocket.” He felt his heartbeat return to a relatively normal pace. “I’ll return him.” Harvey shimmied the little crab onto Elliott’s palm, and he tucked him carefully in the front pocket of his bag.

“It’s remarkably soft. Your hair,” Harvey commented. 

“Oh, why-” Elliott hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining a dusting of pink on Harvey’s cheeks, but his own were on fire. “Thank you. Quite honestly, if you knew the length and complexity of my hair routine, it would astound you. You might be repulsed.”

Harvey chuckled. “You could never be repulsive.” He said it in sort of a low, rhetorical way, but Elliott had never desperately wanted someone to elaborate more in his life.

“You know. I just realized,” Harvey said. 

Elliott raised his eyebrows in curiosity. 

“Your hiccups stopped.” 

“Oh.” Elliott put a hand to his chest. “Why, they have.”

He gave him a satisfied smile. “I do believe you’re cured.” 

  
  


***

The wine was more than half gone when Harvey announced that he should be finished, citing his early day at the clinic for George’s routine appointment, which Elliott could only assume was a bit more contentious than the average physical. 

They were standing at the square now, about to part ways, and Elliott was trying not to look as disappointed for the night to end as he felt. 

“It was a lovely evening. I’m glad I could still have a drink tonight.” Harvey reached out and took his hand for what might have been a handshake, but there was no movement, just a soft lingering grasp that made his spine tingle. “Thank you again for sharing your wine.”

Their hands lingered still, and Elliott could feel it was warm, and soft. He didn’t really want to let go, but finally he did, his arm floating back to his side. “It was a pleasure. A lovely chance meeting.”

“It was.” Harvey smiled. “You’ll be alright, headed down there in the dark?” He looked past him towards the beach. 

“A bright moon on the sea will guide my way.” Elliott briefly cursed his talent for immediate and effortlessly poetic responses. Maybe the doctor would have offered to join him with some additional hesitation? _An outrageous thought. He’s not looking to join you back home._

They shared a smile and said their goodnights. When he could hear Harvey’s footsteps headed up the square, Elliott finally let out a breath of nervous energy that he wasn’t aware he had been holding in. 

Had he actually just sat and chatted with the doctor for that long? And had it really been as… romantic as he was imagining?

He whipped his phone out of his pocket.

> Elliott: Forgive the long pause, are you still awake?
> 
> Elliott: I ran into the doctor..

He saw waving dots instantly. Thank Yoba she was still up.

> Leah: You’re more than forgiven, especially if you give me details!!
> 
> Leah: Did anything happen?
> 
> Elliott: nothing, other than the cementing of my affection and my absolute ruin 
> 
> Leah: Oh, stop.
> 
> Leah: We need a serious debrief in the morning.
> 
> Elliott: brunch?
> 
> Leah: my place.

He hustled his pace along the sand of the beach, as if he was more vulnerable to having his thoughts overheard outdoors. He would need to ask the dear farmer for more wine. He had given his bottle away, along with all of his rational sense.

As he got closer to home he couldn’t help entertaining the tantalizing idea of what might have happened if he had asked Harvey to walk him home. Would he take his hand again? Would he come inside and act shy, sipping at a glass of water and asking polite questions about his piano and his plants and his messy desk? 

Or.

Elliott dared a fantasy where he opened the door to the shack and they pressed together immediately, pulling each other close, a rough pinning against the wall, clothes hastily unbuttoned...

He felt his cheeks flush. What would his lips taste like? Would his mustache tickle? How would his body feel, pressed against him?

Elliott opened the door to his sea worn cabin, and gazed at his desk. There would be no falling asleep anytime soon.

He sat down and furiously began to write. 

***

Harvey laid down in his bed that night, unsure if he felt fuzzy from the wine or the warm conversation. It was later than he typically went to bed on a weekday, and he felt more than ready for sleep. He closed his eyes, about to drift off, and found himself imagining Elliott’s rich laugh.

_“I would think there are plenty of adventures still in store for you.”_

Harvey turned contentedly into his pillow. Maybe he was right. 

It was almost strange. He hadn’t felt so light and positively giddy in a long time. His thoughts started to get hazy as sleep settled in. Adventures. Wine. Hiccups. Green eyes. Silky hair. Soft hands. A firm chest he wanted to slide his hand over and press closer to...

Harvey startled awake, his eyes opening.

_Oh_.

Well, this wasn't convenient.

**Author's Note:**

> I initially envisioned only teasing a crush between these two in the original story, but it got a lot of interest from readers and I also just think they make a well-suited match! I had so much fun writing this up from their perspectives.
> 
> Updated note: There is more of Harvey and Elliott's story to read in the sequel to OPNT, which is part 4 of this series, titled "Cross Stitch" . It's still currently in the works and a veryyy slow burn, but wanted to let you know that there is more to read if you're interested! There are other romances and storylines woven throughout as well, so if that's not your cup of tea feel free to skip around the story :)
> 
> If you haven't read part 1 and are interested in checking it out, just a heads up to expect some drama, angst, and sexually explicit content. The major romances are also m/f, in part 1 at least :) 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
